Step 5: Formalise the consortium structure FOR CONSIDERATION Form a ‘consortium working group’ i.e. selected resources from each member of consortium who will have delivery responsibility to the customer Consortium working group to draft terms of reference and agree on the working group communication and meeting plan to ensure successful delivery Form a ‘consortium steering committee’ with senior executives from the consortium who will have decision making power for escalations of disputes Define governance structure for decision making processes including processes for escalation and dispute resolution; managing performance (under or non-performance) Define operating model for the consortium (organisation structure and resourcing) Define legal model (see below) for the consortium. Each partner should seek independent legal and financial advice covering items such as setting up entities, contractual terms, IP ownership, and servicing of those contracts Define and negotiate the consortium contract or memorandum of understanding or partnership agreement Define terms and conditions for exit of a consortium member (voluntary or otherwise) Negotiate and sign contract for the opportunity with overseas customer/partner If the consortium is agreed on and contracts signed proceed to next step of delivery INSIGHTS FROM INDUSTRY “Formalising consortia can take some time, you need to be patient around this. Partner trust can be hard to develop but getting it right is important to ensure you jointly deliver a quality product to your clients.” – TAFE member of a state consortium Typical legal models for a consortium USEFUL LINKS Guide for developing business plan: www.business.gov.au/info/plan-and-start/templates-and-tools/checklists/starting-your-business-checklist Austrade, legal issues guide Previous: Step 4 Next: Step 6
“Formalising consortia can take some time, you need to be patient around this. Partner trust can be hard to develop but getting it right is important to ensure you jointly deliver a quality product to your clients.” – TAFE member of a state consortium
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